Fast food: McDonald’s workers protest harassment

Hundreds of McDonald’s employees in 10 cities across the country went on strike this week, said Rachel Abrams in The New York Times. Employees rallied in cities such as Chicago, Kansas City, and St. Louis. At the St. Louis rally, workers chanted “Hold your burgers, hold your fries / Keep your hands off my thighs.” Staff called on the fast-food giant to protect employees from supervisors’ unwelcome advances and from retaliation against those who complain.

Media: Time magazine purchased by tech billionaire

Time magazine has been sold to a Silicon Valley billionaire, said Thomas Heath in The Washington Post. The buyer is Salesforce.com owner Marc Benioff, together with his wife, Lynne. Time’s parent, Meredith Corp., parted with “the storied publication, whose cover images for decades helped shape the national conversation,” for $190 million. Benioff, whose company develops business software, is known for sprinkling his business philosophy with principles taken from Zen Buddhism. Time joins a cluster of media titles such as the Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post that have wealthy new owners with tech industry ties.

Tech: Amazon’s employee-bribery scandal

“Amazon is investigating suspected data leaks and bribes of its employees as it fights to root out fake reviews and other seller scams from its website,” said Jon Emont in The Wall Street Journal. Sellers claim Amazon employees offer “confidential information” that gives some sellers on the site an unfair advantage. The practice is most pronounced in China, where for payments from $80 up to $2,000, brokers provide “internal sales metrics and reviewers’ email addresses, as well as a service to delete negative reviews and restore banned Amazon accounts.”

Soda: Coke’s cannabis collaboration

“Coca-Cola is eyeing the cannabis market,” said Jen Skerritt and Craig Giammona in Bloomberg.com. The shares of Canadian cannabis-drinks maker Aurora Cannabis soared this week as the cola giant confirmed its interest. Coke is “the latest beverage company to tap into surging demand for marijuana products as traditional sales slow.” Coke is interested in developing drinks made with “the non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that treats pain but doesn’t get you high.” Its discussions with Aurora have specifically focused on drinks that “ease inflammation, pain, and cramping.”